Refrigerator.



J. J. VAUGHN.

RERIGBBATOB. l APPLICATION 'FILED .TUNE 17,1911.

Patented Jan. 23, 1912,.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1."

,.A'aulvyll I...

WITNESSES INVENTOR J J l/UG//K L ATTORNEYS.

J. J. VAUGHN.

RBFRIGBRATOR. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 17, 191.1. Y

1,015,600. l n' Patented Jan.23, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WITNEssEs INVENTOR /f" ATTORNEYS.

' Refrigerators, of which the following is va tion, whereI shall outline in full, that form I lvTotill 'whom it may concerm I UNITED sTATE-s PATENT orrrcn.4

JosEPH J. vAUGrINj-or sAN MATEO, CALIFORNIA. AssIGNoRfTo HENRY SELLER,

`0E sAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

Y EEERIGERATOR.

lBe it known that I, JOSEPH J. VAUGHN, a citizen of thefrUnited States, and a resident of San Mateo, in the county of San /Iateo, State of California, have invented certain new and .useful Improvements 1n specification.

The invention relates to refrigerators which are generally known as iceless refrigerators which are rendered cool 4by the evaporation of water.

' The obJect of the invention 1s to providev a refrigerator of the class described em bodying many new features which operate to produce a refrigerator which is improved both in construction and operation.

Another 'object of.,tlie invention is to rovide means for cooling the water before It is Vfedjionto the fabric covering, thereby aiding in reducingthe. temperature within the refrigerator. l

lThis device possesses other advantageous features which, with the foregoing', will be set forthat length in the following descripof embodiment of the invention which I have selected forillustration in the draw ings accompanying and forming part of the present specification. The novelty of the invention will be included in the claims succeeding4 said description. be apparent-that I do not restrict myself to the showing made by such drawings and descriptions as I ma-y adopt many variations within the scope of my invention as expressed in said claims.

Referring ito the drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective view of the refrigeratorwith the door open, severalof vthe parts being broken away vto disclose the construction. F 1g. 2 =1s 4a vertlcal section through the waterreceptacle and water coolingdevicc' on the top of the refrigerator. Fig. 3 is a vertical section through therefr1gerator.

Fig. 4 is a detailed section showing the means of attaching the fabric to the casing and to the upper edge of the door. Fig. 5 is a horizontal section through part'of the refrigerator showing the method of con- 'necting the sides and the back.

It is a well known fact that when evaporation takes place without a supp-lypof heatfrom an external sou1ce, .coolmg of the liquidand its surroundings takes place. This From this i't will *Tfy Specification of Letters latent. Patented Jan. 23,1912. applicati@ med June .17, 1911. serial No.' 633,751.

- principle is utilized in the present invention by covering a cupboard with a fabric, such as burlap or canvas and keeping such fabric Vin a' moist condition, so that evaporation takes place constantly, thereby cooling the cupboard and any substances which may be therein.

The cupboard consists preferably ofv a` sheet metal lstructure 2, having solid walls, bottom, top and door, so that the vapor arising from the moistened fabric cannot enter the cupboard. Sheet.. metal, -being a good conductor of heat, the vinterior of the cupboard is quicklyV cooled .and the air therein ,is maintained in a practically dry condition. Heretofore, such devices' have consisted of a frame having the fabric stretchedV thereon,v but the moist condition of the air has rendered them useless, by

'causing the food to deteriorate very rapidly.

The bottom 3 of the cupboard is raised above 4 the base of the structure, for reasons that will 'hereinafter'..appean and is .pro-

vided with a ventilator 41 for allowing air to pass vinto the cupboard. The top is provided vwith 'a similar: ventilator 5 for reasons which are apparent. Along the front wall of the cupboard, vand below the bottom 3 are aplurality of apertures 6 lfor allowing the air under the bottom and through the ventilator 4..

The top 7, sides 8 and door 9 of the eupboard are covered .with a fabric 11, such as bui-lap or canvas, which is kept continually moist with water supplied by the receptacle 12. This receptacle 12 is provided with a cock 13 which is opened to allow a sufficient quantityv of water to drip onto the fabric to keep it continually moist. The capillary'actionof the water in the fabric causes it to spread over the entiresurface.

In order to cool the water in the recep, tacle 12, and thereby aid in cooling the cupboard, I' provide a cover 14C which completely incloses the receptacle. This cover is preferably made of sheet metal and is covered with a layer of fabric 15. The cover 14 has an opening inthe top through which a wick 16 extends from the fabric 15 to the water in the receptacle 12. The fabric 1'5 is thereby kept continually moist and the evaporation of the water therein,.cools the 1- as found convenient.

manner that it :may be readily removed fwhen desired. This iis a very ydesirable feature of the devicel as *it-allo'ws --the cover tothe re- "moved and v a neivone substituted when it becomes Worn. The cover is vheld place, b y- 'Inea'ns of 'clamping stripsvl'? under which it is lappedl and: which arel heldin place vby means` ofscrews 18. vThesestrips 17 fare preferably arrangedvonly around the door' opening-,but ma ybe laced in Aother places 'Theouter face of the door 9 is-also cov-4 ered with fabric 1 1.' This lfabric is noistened by .Water dripping from the fabric on the body of the cupboard immediately above the door. The clampiungstrip-19 along the .upper edge'of the door is bent outwardso that the fabric on the upper edge of the door projects beyond the fabric on the body and catches allv of the Water'that drips there.

from. rlhis arrangement' also provides a troughalong the upper edge of the door for catching the Water and distributing it evenly over the door surface.- v

The cupboard sets-in a lpan 2l having standing sides and provided With legs 22 for rests.

holding it above the 'surface `on which it This pan is provided-With a drip pipe 23, which projects above theA bottoni. of the pan, and thereby maintains a quantity of Water in the pan at all times. The presencev of thiswater prevents vants and other i insects from gaining access to thecupboard. The drip pipe 23 may discharge into asuitable receptacle' or into a pipe connected With the sewer.

shelves 25.y

provided with elongated apertures 26, to

Supported Within the cupboard on the cleats 24 attached to the sides thereof are These shelvesv are preferably allow air to circulate through the cupboard and around the articles therein. A l The cupboard is preferably/ made of sheet metal and is'so constructed that it vnia-jl; be readily assembled or .'lnooled down. The

bottom is 4formed With'a depending ange' having. an'. exterior upturned {lange} 28,

spaced apart a vsuiiicient. distance from ange .27 .that the side, orback' of the cup- 4 board readily Ats therebetween. ti'terlbeing 'inserted in -the groove thus formed,'the parts are screwed together thereby forming.. av

rigid structure. The sides and back are united by a double seamedjoint 29, which -is' so constructed. that vthe parts maybe moved vertically toseparate them. Thetop ofthe cupboard is also formed with a depending fiange whichis. united `to the 'sides and backby suitable screws.

ering adapted to be'maintained in a moisi tened condition, areceptaele adapte/dto con .tain Water to meisten said fabric, a" cover adaptedto inclose ,said receptacle having an opening in the top thereof, a fabric covering 4said cover, anda Wickattached to said fabric extending through said opening into v the Water receptacle.l

" 2. In a refrigerator having solid Walls lecn/ered with a fabric adapted to be 'maintained in a nxoistened condition, means for moistening said fabric comprising a Water v l: In a refrigerator. having a fabric covreceptacle provided with a 'drip-cock arranged on top of said refrigerator, and. means for cooling the Water in said receptacle, comprising a cover of larger dimensions than the receptacle adapted to'inclose the receptacle, and having an-opening in its 

